


gotta be a reason -got7 murder mystery

by bambamboo



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, M/M, Murder Mystery, detective bambam, everyone is sad, got7 murder, maybe markjin but we dunno, omfg who killed youngjae, school au, stan got7 kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22575568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambamboo/pseuds/bambamboo
Summary: one of them is dead, gone, murdered.soon, the police deem it a cold case, no evidence is found and the only suspect they had was proven innocent.but bambam wants revenge. and so, he decides to solve the murder himself.





	gotta be a reason -got7 murder mystery

"YOUNGJAE!!!" bambam called over the pulsing sound of bass that throbbed through the entire house, "YOUNGJAE OVER HERE!"

having clocked his best friend only seconds prior, bambam was now desperately trying to get his attention.

he was barely able to make youngjae's face out in the dim light but started waving frantically at him anyway.  
though true to youngjae's clueless nature, he didn't hear bambam or see him for that matter, despite his platinum blonde hair.

youngjae's eyes wandered over the hoardes of people at the party, bewildered and overwhelmed. bambam chuckled at the expression, it seemed to be permanent on his best friend's face, bambam had seen it enough times to know that it meant youngjae was silently freaking out. it had appeared before the biggest exam in the school year that youngjae had 'forgotten' to revise for. it even appeared when they first walked through the school gates together in the morning. youngjae was gentle, and he really hated school. 

seeing the familiar look of fear settling into youngjae's eyes, bambam upped his attempts at drawing his attention, all but clanging two pots together and screaming at the top of his lungs. 

it took a good few seconds of mindless waving and shouting before mid-shout, he felt a hand snake around his shoulder. bambam looked up, as the owner of the hand was taller than him, to stare right into the eyes of park jinyoung. 

park jinyoung. of course he was at the party, of course he had decided to talk to bambam, of all people. his eyes held that gloating glint they always seemed to have as they flicked over to where youngjae stood. 

"is that youngjae?" he asked, "why is he wandering around like a lost puppy?"

bambam edged slightly away from jinyoung, moving far enough so that the arm dropped from around his shoulder, "it's none of your business you prick. back up and back off," 

"woah easy up bambam, i'm just here for a good time," jinyoung laughed, the kind of laugh that was dry and absent of any humour. 

bambam scoffed, "as if." he knew jinyoung, and more importantly, he knew the rivalry between him and youngjae. if jinyoung was looking for youngjae, it would only mean trouble for both him and bambam, who always seemed to end up involved. be it literally standing between them in a fight or being affected by youngjae's killer moodswings, bambam seemed to suffer everytime the pair so much as made eye contact. 

jinyoung was obviously up to something, though he denied it profusely and kept his eyes trained on youngjae who was still searching for bambam.

just as bambam was about to kick up a fuss about jinyoung remaining stood next to him, a voice behind them both spoke up, "fuck off jinyoung, go find minho or something," and jinyoung slunk away with grumbles of, "whatever," and, "i didn't care anyway," 

this left just bambam and the guy who had scared jinyoung away. bambam spun around happily. 

"jackson!!" he laughed pulling the definitively tipsy boy into a hug, "my knight in shining armour! how will i ever repay you?" 

jackson smirked, "$30 and a date with your friend mark- what do you say?" 

"i say go get youngjae from that huge crowd over there before i punch you in the face and tell you for the thousandth time that mark is straight," 

"ugh," jackson jokingly groaned as he made his way over to where youngjae stood, "you're no fun anymore," 

"i'm so much fun!" bambam called after him. 

as bambam watched jackson grab youngjae by the wrist and lead him back to where he was stood, he couldn't help but sigh. he was thinking about jackson's insane crush on mark yet again. jackson didn't like to show it but bambam knew it was eating him up inside, you could just mention mark's name and in an instant jackson would be gooey and gross. in hindsight, it was kind of funny, but bambam cared about his friends and he didn't want them hurt. and jackson was obviously hurting.

"hey bammie!!" youngjae grinned, adjusting his large brimmed hat and pulling bambam from his thoughts, "party good so far?"

"eh, i've seen better," bambam shrugged. 

"plus- jinyoung was totally molesting you," jackson added, "bein' all creepy and shit," 

it was so obvious how youngjae's eyes darkened when the name was spoken, "he did what?" he asked, his tone gruffer than usual. this would often happen, either jackson or bambam would mention jinyoung and youngjae would fly into a rage for almost no reason. funny thing was, bambam had no idea what the beef between them was. 

"nothing." bambam turned to jackson, "he did absolutely nothing, jackson," 

"that's what he wants you to think,"

"oh fuck off, let's go find the others," bambam rolled his eyes, before smirking and muttering "nice hat by the way youngjae,"

"shhh, it's a great hat," 

\---

it took a good while for the trio to find yugyeom but after what felt like hours of circling around and around the bottom floor of lee minho's house, they found yugyeom playing never have i ever with a ton of his friends from dance. already from a distance, anyone could tell that yugyeom was roaring drunk. 

his hair was ruffled and sticking out on all sides and his cheeks were tainted pink, like he had been out in the cold for far too long. bambam rolled his eyes and pointed him out to jackson who, for some weird reason, fistbumped the air shouting, "$5 to jackson!!" 

next to bambam, youngjae sighed just a tiny bit overdramatically, "fine. i'll give it to you tomorrow. i'm never having faith in any of my friends ever again," he pointed to yugyeom, "especially that fucker," 

"what the fuck is going on," bambam laughed, "jacks are you seriously celebrating gyeom being drunk right now- you do remember we're driving him home right?"

"oh shit," this from youngjae. 

"i'm too happy to care," jackson said, "me and youngjae made a bet. i said yugyeom would get wasted, youngjae said he wouldn't. i clearly won so ha ha in your face youngjae!" 

bambam decided it would be best to not question the whole scenario and just go save yugyeom from drinking more. he really didn't want to have to watch a stomach get pumped ever again. that shit had scarred him last time and, most probably, yugyeom too. but that boy was still downing drinks like nobody's business, head flopping against bang chan's shoulder. 

"gyeom!" bambam whisper shouted, drawing the attention of chan who smiled grimly, "how is he chan?" 

"he's done for mate- well and truly wasted," 

yugyeom's head lifted as he slurred, "sssucks for that guy," 

"sucks for his friend more though," bambam grumbled as he pushed the red solo cup away from yugyeom's mouth as the younger tried to take a sip, "no more alcohol yugyeom," 

yugyeom pouted as chan laughed rather loudly next to them, "but it tastes so goooooooood," 

"oh you'll thank me in the morning. now c'mon, we gotta find mark," 

"that nerd?" chan spoke up, having abandoned the game of never have i ever, "you guys are still friends with him?" 

it seemed as though the entire dance team groaned when they heard chan say this, though bambam only cringed as he realised they had all been listening to his, chan and yugyeom's conversation. but still, he couldn't help but laugh when im jaebeom said, "chan, what are you- 90? mark's cool now," 

"he is? but he likes star wars and shit," 

"everyone found out he's from LA," jabeom explained, rolling his eyes, "and you can't not be treated like a god if you're from LA. every damn girl has a crush on that skinny kid now," 

"someone's salty," bambam laughed and jaebeom's face grew red, "but nice chat guys. me and yugyeom are gonna blast now," 

"the life of the party is leaving us!" chan fake whined, saracasm practically dripping from his voice, "whatever shall we do?!" 

"suffer i guess," bambam replied, dragging yugyeom into a standing position and making sure to support his head, which often lolled about when the boy was drunk. 

youngjae and jackson had long since disappeared, and bambam could only imagine that jackson was whining about not getting his $5 with an exasperated youngjae desperately trying to escape him. it seemed so them that bambam could picture the situation clearly in his mind. 

not really caring about where they had run off to however, bambam searched for a place to set yugyeom down where he would be comfortable... and not ruin anything expensive if he threw up. in the process, he spotted mark's bright red hair, and the boy himself sat leaning against a wall with a half empty bottle of beer swinging from his hands. 

yugyeom flopped, unconscious. 

"mark, hey," bambam smiled as he walked over to where mark sat, one arm carefully wrapped around yugyeom's torso, "all by yourself?" 

"sadly, yes. i can't find jinyoung anywhere," mark sounded surprisingly sober for a guy with 4 empty beers scattered at his feet. 

"really? the guy is literally everywhere i don't want him to be," bambam threw yugyeom's limp body next to mark and smiled tightly, thinking back to his and jinyoung's encounter earlier that evening. 

"still hate him huh? y'know he's a nice guy right?"

"i'll believe it when i see it," 

mark smirked and took another swing of the beer he was holding, closing his eyes to do so. the LA style, bambam assumed. "do you even know why youngjae hates him?" mark asked suddenly, after placing the beer back on the floor beside him. 

"no," bambam shrugged. in truth, he had never really thought about it, he just trusted that youngjae had a bone to pick with the guy and that he should stay away. every single time youngjae would see him, even just in passing, he would make a snide comment or whisper things under his breath. youngjae really hated jinyoung and bambam wasn't one to question that. 

mark sighed, a deep sigh that made bambam curious, not something sighs often did. mark sounded so forlorn, like he would be the bearer of bad news, his eyes were heavy and sad. 

"listen. jinyoung didn't do anything to youngjae," mark started to explain with a delicate voice, like he was worried about making bambam upset. bambam cocked his head- there was no chance in hell jinyoung had done nothing, youngjae was just so angry... and youngjae was usually such a bright person. 

"all he did was want to be friends with you and jackson. or at least that's what he said. and then youngjae got jealous, so he made it seem like he hated jinyoung so you, oh so loyal bambam, would stay away from jinyoung. it fucked him up y'know," 

"yeah right," bambam scoffed, "way to play the victim card... mark, he's obviously done something shit," 

"jinyoung hasn't, youngjae has," mark was beginning to seem annoyed, "i'm telling you man- youngjae was a massive dick for no reason other than jealousy,"

"sorry mark, i'm leaving," bambam stood up, dragging yugyeom with him, "who would've thought popularity would make you so pretentious?" 

"fuck you, man. i was just trying to help," 

bambam chuckled sarcastically, "yeah right, goodbye mark," 

as bambam struggled away, barely able to support yugyeom's added weight, he started to think about everything mark had said. in a way, it made sense. for his whole life, youngjae had been jealous of everything, it was a deep-set part of his personality, so that part of mark's story tracked. and as bambam thought about it further as he once again found himself circling the house for a friend, he realised that there really was nothing jinyoung could've done. in theory, he was a nice guy. sure, he made some weird jokes and didn't really like talking to people, but he wasn't the kind of person to be deliberately malicious, especially to youngjae. bambam had always thought that everyone liked youngjae. 

then he wanted to punch himself for doubting youngjae. they had been best friends for 8 years, surely youngjae wouldn't lie to him, and jackson and yugyeom for that matter, about something so big. but no matter how hard he thought about it, bambam started to realise that he was beliveing mark more and more. 

and then he saw youngjae.  
and then that famous bambam anger started to kick in, the one that had got him suspended from school for 3 weeks, that one that had ended up in yugyeom not speaking to him for half a month. 

when it came, there was no going back. 

he stormed up to youngjae, dropping yugyeom against a wall somewhere, although he could barely remember where. yugyeom wasn't what was important at that moment. 

"bambam we were just about to cal-" youngjae tried to say before bambam glared him down. the words faultered and youngjae fell into silence. 

jackson's eyes drifted uncomfortably to bambam, "bambam what's wro-"

"--youngjae lying is what's wrong." 

the tension that followed was unbearable, youngjae gulped nervously, "wh-what did i do?" 

"like you don't know," bambam's voice dripped with anger, so much so that youngjae backed away and jackson's gaze shifted every few seconds. 

"no really bambam, what the fuck did i do?"

"you lied youngjae, you fucking lied," bambam was heating up now, his cheeks starting to darken to a deep shade of red, "jinyoung didn't do anything, did he?" 

"w-well....i-i," 

"i knew it. you dickhead, i can't believe i ever trusted you," bambam tried to shove past youngjae to leave before his anger really got the best of him. but as he tried to move, he felt youngjae hold him in place with two firm hands, one planted steadily on each of bambam's shoulders.

"let me explain, please bambam let me explain," youngjae said with tears starting to flood into his eyes, "is it that big of a deal? i-it's just jinyoung right?" 

"i don't care that you made me hate jinyoung, i care that you lied. just to prevent me from having a friend? real low," bambam turned to jackson who was staring at his shoes, "c'mon jackson let's go." 

"i'm not getting involv-"

"we're leaving. make sure yugyeom gets home youngjae," bambam said, with such finality that jackson just sighed and nodded. although he only had a basic grasp of the situation, he decided it was probably best to go with bambam to avoid him getting angry at him as well. as he left, he slipped youngjae a quick wave and mouthed, "i'm sorry?", feeling insanely guilty when he saw the tears dripping down youngjae's rosy cheeks. 

"bambam," jackson said through gritted teeth as bambam marched them through the sweaty rooms of the party, "what just happened? what's going on?" 

"it doesn't matter. can we just leave please?" 

it took all of bambam's strength to avoid snapping at jackson, it was especially hard as the alcohol he had drunk a couple of hours ago was making his brain hazy. he found that he often got angrier when he was drunk, so he was just barely holding on. youngjae had really done that, lied for years, made bambam hate someone. bambam knew deep down that it shouldn't be that important, but it just made him feel so betrayed. youngjae was meant to be his best friend. 

the party had already started emptying out, it was at least midnight and most of lee minho's friends were, in bambam's opinion, complete nerds. he had seen at least 10 of them walking around with colas rather than beers. the whole party had been a little lame. so, in a way, bambam wasn't too sad that he and jackson were skipping out early. 

jackson, however, seemed a little pissed, "bam, c'mon i haven't said hey to jooheon yet, can we just go back? whatever youngjae did can't be that bad," 

"we're leaving jackson. i can't be anywhere near youngjae right now," 

jackson sighed agitatedly, "we really have to go back, i have something i need to do,"

the daggers bambam sent jackson through his eyes were enough to make anyone shudder, "just pass me your fucking keys- you're too drunk to drive," 

"they're in my backpack," jackson said as he gestured for bambam to get them himself. bambam obliged, unzipping jackson's backpack from where it hung loosely on his back. he dug around for a few seconds, searching for the shiny metal of the keys but came back empty handed. 

"they're not in there," it was now almost impossible for bambam to withold the anger, he felt he would burst at any second. had jackson really lost his keys, of all things?

jackson groaned, "are you sure? i drove here so they have to be somewhere," 

"i mean, you have a wallet, phone, deoderant, a spare shirt and.... a water bottle? what the fuck? but no keys," 

"hey! don't judge my water bottle- it's important to stay hydrated when drinking alcohol.. wards off the hangover or some shit," 

bambam laughed, something he certainly hadn't been expecting in his current state, "right, you do you i guess. but seriously man, where are your keys?" 

"i don't know...maybe youngjae has them? we should go back and get him,"

they were coming up to the part of the walk home where the road split, one direction taking them through the woods and the other down a paved street to where jackson's car was parked. bambam could just barely see the fiat but he felt like crying, he just wanted to get into a warm car and sit down, but now that seemed impossible. walking along the road would take at least 3 hours and the woods, whilst a shorter route, were too dangerous, especially late at night when it was dark. 

"fuck." jackson ran a hand through his dark, nicely styled hair, messing up the fringe that to be fair, was already messed up, "we're gonna have to take the scenic route," 

"the scenic route... you mean the woods? y'know a girl was murdered there 5 years ago," 

"that's just a rumour," jackson said, trying not to look scared. but bambam knew him well, even just a subtle change in his eyes and bambam could tell he was petrified, "we'll be fine," 

"right..." bambam whispered, looking up at the trees guarding the entrance to the woods. they towered over him, looking even bigger in the moonlight, they almost looked like they were threatening him as their shadows made sure to cast no light over the two frightened boys, "let's just go... we have phone torches," 

"are you sure? we could go back," 

"no. we can do this. we're not cowards, man up jackson," 

jackson chuckled nervously, glancing down at the see through lace shirt bambam was wearing, "i should be the one saying that, mr lace shirt guy,"

"oh shut up, let's go," 

the boys slowly moved up to the trees, looking down at the pitch black path. it twisted almost immediately, so when they peered inside, all they could see was a wall of trees. foreboding. bambam slowly stepped inside, at once feeling colder. he pulled out his phone torch, the small circle of light bringing him some comfort, and gestured for jackson to follow him. jackson nodded, though he kept on glancing behind him, like he was waiting for someone. 

after the first few minutes of silently walking in terror, they both began to relax, even if jackson was checking his phone every two seconds for signal. it looked like he was waiting for a message from someone. 

"are you sure we can't go back?" he eventually said as he hastily shoved his phone into his pocket for the fifth time since they'd entered the woods. 

"oh my god man, i'm not walking all the way back now. that just means even more time spent in the woods," bambam's arms were crossed defensively over his chest and he pulled them closer as something began to feel wrong. his hairs had suddenly pricked up, making him feel even colder in his thin lace top. jackson seemed unfazed but bambam was freaking out beside him. there was sense of danger hanging over him that he couldn't quite explain, like something awful was happening. 

it was pushed away for a moment when jackson shouted, "signal!!! yessss!" 

bambam rolled his eyes as jackson's phone buzzed with hundreds of messages. his friend quickly set to work answering them all as the uneasiness settled back over bambam. 

and then he saw it.  
fluttering in the wind.  
it was unmistakeable, he had seen it only hours before. 

youngjae's hat. 

"jackson..." bambam whispered, feeling bile rush up the back of his throat, "i-is that... that's youngjae's hat... w-why is it... here?" 

jackson shook his head, "that could be anyone's hat.. don't freak out bam," 

obviously jackson wasn't feeling the same horror filled sense of dread that bambam was. 

"call him. his phone is always on, call him," 

jackson handed bambam the phone, pausing for a second to mute the messages from someone, or that's what it looked like to bambam, "call him yourself. but like... didn't you hate him two seconds ago?" 

"not now i think he might be dead in the woods." 

jackson's laugh rebounded through the trees, "bambam chill, youngjae isn't dead- he's back at the party where we left him," 

bambam didn't reply, just pressed the smiling photo of youngjae in jackson's contacts and then the call button. with shaking hands, he brought the phone up to his ear and nearly jumped out of his skin when it started ringing. that was normal. youngjae was probably okay. 

and then he heard jackson's sharp intake of breath. 

from somewhere deep in the trees a song had started playing. wind flower by mamamoo. youngjae's ringtone. 

"what the fuck?!" bambam cried, flinging jackson's phone to the ground and running into the undergrowth, his own phone swinging, the flashlight bouncing all over the place. 

"YOUNGJAE!" he shouted, voice beginning to crack as worst case scenarios flooded his head, "YOUNGJAE WHERE ARE YOU?" 

bambam's wild eyes spun back to jackson who had a hand wrapped tightly around his mouth. he had dropped to his knees, having fallen just next to where bambam had dropped his phone.

"youngjae..." jackson muttered weakly, "y-youngjae," 

bambam spotted the phone in the undergrowth and declined the call from himself. tears slipped down his face. youngjae's phone was buried in dirt in the middle of the woods. it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. 

"bambam," jackson said, trying to sound calm but his voice wobbled and came out weakly, barely audible, "..bambam go get everyone else... we need h-help but we'll find him... i-i'm gonna stay here and look for him," 

"are you insane?" bambam sobbed as his cradled youngjae's phone in his palms, "what if you disappear too," 

"i won't just... please go get help," 

bambam nodded slowly, convinced by the certainty in jackson's words. he looked lost and scared but bambam trusted him. 

youngjae will be okay.  
youngjae will be okay.  
youngjae will be okay.

he spoke it to himself over and over like a mantra as he sprinted back through the woods he had been so scared of, fear only elevated by the thought of jackson alone in the dark. the last thing he had said to youngjae was that he thought he was a dickhead. if youngjae was.... dead... bambam didn't know what he would do. he couldn't bear to think that he had left things on a bad note. 

no. he wouldn't think like that. 

youngjae will be okay

his feet stopped landing on soft dirt and started slamming into the pavement, deep thuds that echoed through the empty streets. 

youngjae will be okay

he veered the corner and saw minho's house up ahead, decorated in crude decorations for his birthday. more tears slipped from bambam's eyes as he saw jeon jungkook sat beside the door.

youngjae will be okay

"jungkook!" he called out, "youngjae's gone missing in the woods. get everyone," he paused to take deep, shuddering breaths, "we need to find him," 

jungkook's brows furrowed as he took in bambam: his tears, his shirt which had become untucked, the sweat trickling from his forehead. 

"JUNGKOOK!" bambam was becoming desperate, "YOUNGJAE IS GONE- WE NEED EVERYONE IN THE WOODS NOW," 

"why put others in danger?" jungkook asked, confused, "call the police." 

bambam knew that he was right. there was absolutely no logical sense for him to be gathering a whole bunch of teenagers to look for his missing friend. but he had no idea what else to do, he wanted other people there, he wanted there to be more of a chance that youngjae was found.

so he ignored his brain telling him he was being stupid. 

"whatever," the panic was rising in bambam's chest, "i'll get people myself," 

"fine fine, i'll come. if you're this worried i'll come."

a small shred of relief shifted within bambam, managing to stop any more tears from falling, "thank you... jackson's looking for him already,"

"right.." jungkook still looked unsure, "i'll.. go get my friends i guess...." 

it helped that jungkook was drunk. and bambam too, to be fair. he knew that there was no way anyone would be willing to go to the woods where a potential..... murderer was. bambam just thanked whatever higher power was up there that jungkook was wasted enough to actually go into the house and gather a small army of pissed teenagers to go find youngjae. 

the only thing bambam could focus on was getting back to jackson. every second he was at minho's was another second that jackson could go missing. 

so he rushed inside, not wasting even a single moment and rounded up mark and yugyeom. yugyeom had recovered slightly, able to walk on two feet without collapsing and mark was still as sober as ever. bambam told mark to go get yugyeom's dance friends, eyes drifting over to them- spotting jaebeom, jisung and felix among others. 

the tears didn't remain gone for long, and as bambam ran back he found himself repeating a different mantra.

youngjae is dead  
youngjae is dead  
youngjae is dead

he heard mark shout behind him, "BAMBAM!" but he didn't turn around, just sprinted harder, cried harder, worried about jackson more than ever. 

nothing would make him stop, not even when he reached the entrance of the woods to see several people jungkook had gathered stood still, sharing the same fearful expression he and jackson had worn earlier. bambam just shouted, "YOUNGJAE NEEDS HELP. HURRY UP AND LOOK FOR HIM," and ran into the woods. he didn't even stop to turn his phone torch on, he just continued running down the weaving path and prayed that people were running behind him. 

but to no avail, most people just turned away. mark shouted at them too, "C'MON GUYS, YOU KNOW THE POLICE SUCK AROUND HERE," 

jungkook laughed, "isn't your dad the sheriff?" 

"exactly." mark replied. but there was no humour in his voice, "if we don't find youngjae no one will," 

his stomach churned. he didn't even know youngjae that well, he could only imagine how horrible bambam was feeling. 

and bambam was feeling bad.  
the twisting in his gut didn't feel natural, it was insane, how much it hurt. he needed to vomit but he couldn't stop to throw up. 

"JACKSON?" he called, his voice overpowered by several shouts of "YOUNGJAE". bambam recognized yugyeom's voice among them, and he was sure he heard jaebeom too. although there were more important things on his mind, "JACKSON? OH GOD JACKSON YOU'RE OKAY RIGHT?" 

his mind was traveling a mile a minute, he was knee-deep in ferns and brambles. everything was crumbling in his mind. 

the last thing he had said to youngjae.  
the last thing he had said had made youngjae cry.

they would be in an argument for the rest of time. jinyoung wasn't even a big deal- why did he have to get so angry?!  
and jackson was gone too, poor jackson, he had-

\--the thoughts whizzing around his brain were interrupted when he heard the sound of someone vomiting almost directly to the left of him, perhaps a few meters on. 

the retches sounded out. everyone stopped shouting, even jaebeom in the far distance. everyone had heard the retch, it was as though they all knew exactly what it meant. 

bambam wanted to scream. 

he ran in the direction of the noise, unable to keep his own vomit from surfacing as a horrible smell filled his nostrils. he bent low and coughed it up, choking down tears at the same time. 

mark appeared behind him, rubbing bambam's back with one hand and pinching his nose with the other. his eyes were lost. when bambam looked up to make eye contact, it felt like a knife tearing into his gut. the silent tears that fell from mark's eyes made it worse and bambam stumbled to his feet. he wrinkled his nose as the smell grew stronger, mark only a few steps behind him. 

jaebeom appeared too, all of them too scared to make the final steps through a wall of trees. they knew what was there, and knew it was the perfect spot to... find youngjae. 

they had all been to the woods in the daytime, they knew where they were. since they were 5 they had played hide and seek in the trees, shot each other with laser beams as they weaved between them, sat and looked up at the canopy as they shared a picnic with their friends. 

behind the trees was a glenn, a small circle of grass surrounded by trees that were taller than everywhere else. it was the only part of the forest that wasn't densely packed with trees. 

bambam shook his head, covering his ears as his mantra shouted inside his head.

youngjae is dead

jaebeom stepped through the trees, and bambam heard a thud as he dropped to the floor. 

youngjae is dead.

mark left too, and almost the minute he entered a loud cry sounded out, followed my deep gasping sobs. 

youngjae is dead.

bambam heard jackson's voice screaming youngjae's name and before he could control himself, he was bursting through the trees. it was the glenn, just as he had suspected. 

in the center was a body, jackson crying over the top of it, concealing its face.  
but bambam knew. 

it was youngjae. 

surprisingly, he didn't cry or scream or fall to the floor, he just became numb. he just stood there, eyes never leaving youngjae's body, where a bone was sticking out from his thigh, blood gushing out. his tears stopped. 

bambam was entranced, swaying on the spot as everything crashed onto him. 

beside jackson was a pool of vomit, and an overturned water bottle, leaking its contents onto the floor. jackson himself was covering his face, but when he looked up bambam saw that it was dry of tears. a small group of people: yugyeom, felix, jisung, and a few others were stood in a huddle, arms wrapped around each other as they sobbed. none cried harder than yugyeom who had fallen to the floor, the wails overcoming him, leaving him breathless and shaking on the floor. 

from next to bambam, jaebeom rushed over to youngjae and pulled him into an empty hug, completely embracing the body as it absorbed his sobs. his gentle hands stroked youngjae's hair as yugyeom stumbled over to comfort him, neither daring to look at youngjae again. 

bambam however, hadn't stopped looking, and hadn't stopped analyzing.

it hadn't set in.  
it didn't feel real.  
it couldn't be real. 

they had been friends for 8 years. youngjae had been there when his father died, there to support him and tell him he was doing a good job when his father couldn't. he was there when bambam broke up with his first girlfriend, supplying him with chocolates and plenty of cheesy comedy movies. he was there whenever bambam felt sad late at night when he had done badly on a test, when he had a new crush when he needed cheering up.

youngjae was there. 

in all of bambam's life, only one thing had stayed the same.  
youngjae. 

they were going to go to japan together, bambam had been saving for 3 years.  
there was no-one now.  
they were planning so many hilarious senior pranks.  
there was no-one now.  
they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.  
there was no-one now. 

the only reaction he had was a slight shaking of his hands as the thoughts flew past, every memory, every moment he had spent with youngjae. they were all spinning through him, drowning him, leaving him paralyzed. there would be no new memories, only one more: the funeral. 

and then youngjae would be gone. 

"mark-" bambam choked up and mark turned to look at him, cheeks stained with the traces of tears, the wetness of his face reflecting in the moonlight, "w-what do i do.." 

finally, his eyes brimmed with tears. 

mark looked away, "i-i...i,"

"mark," he said again, desperation setting in, almost sending him dropping to the floor, "what do i do," 

suffocation.  
tears.  
pain, so much pain. 

"WHAT DO I DO?!"

**Author's Note:**

> HIYA!  
> thank you for reading my first fanfic :)  
> i put a lot of effort into working the details out for this- so i really appreciate anyone who reads!!! thank u!!!


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